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Saturday, June 28, 2025

Upcoming Quebec election “will be tighter than expected”: Leger

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
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The president of Leger polling Jean-Marc Leger says the upcoming Quebec election will be tighter than expected despite predictions of a historic landslide victory by the legacy media for Francois Legault’s Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ).

The latest poll from Leger gives the governing CAQ 41% support, while seat projections from 338Canada give them between 79 and 106 seats. Sixty-three seats are needed for a majority in Quebec’s National Assembly.

As reported by Cult MTL, Leger believes the situation could change by election day because Quebec voters are “cyclothymics” – meaning their mood shifts up and down. 

“Elections in English Canada are easier to predict because the vote is more stable and voters are more loyal. Quebecers are cyclothymics. At each election, they fall in love with a leader (Bouchard, Dumont, Layton, Trudeau, Blanchet, Legault).” said Leger 

“Who will be the next one?”

In the last 10 years, Quebec has had four premiers from three political parties, while the federal NDP and Liberals have both had the largest share of parliamentary seats in the province.

A contributing factor to Legault’s lead is the lack of momentum from establishment opposition parties including the Quebec Liberals and the Parti Quebecois. However, a new party has made it into the spotlight – the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ), led by former columnist and radio host Eric Duhaime.

The PCQ was founded in 2009 and received 1.46% of the vote in the last provincial election, but it has since placed second in some polls, receiving as high as 24% support. 

The party’s membership has grown from 500 members to over 55,000, and it received over 10% of the vote in the recent Marie-Victorin by-election, a noticeable gain from the  0.75% the PCQ obtained last time it ran a candidate in the riding.

Part of the PCQ’s success can be attributed to its staunch opposition to Legault’s pandemic restriction regime – which included hard lockdowns, curfews, limits on domestic travel and a vaccine passport program that limited access to groceries.

Legault’s popularity has also been decreasing, with Quebecers saying he has done a “poor job” on healthcare and concerns over the government’s controversial Bill 96.

The premier’s approval rating reached a new low of 44% in June 2022, down 33% from the 77% approval that Legault enjoyed two years ago.

The Quebec election is set for October 3, 2022, and Duhaime will be able to participate in debates during the election campaign.  

New archeological evidence contradicts unmarked graves narrative

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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New archaeological evidence from the former Kamloops Indian Residential School raises more questions about the narrative that 215 “probable burials” of Indigenous children were discovered at the site. 

The evidence was unearthed by a professional architect with expertise in aerial photography and published by former anthropology professor Hymie Rubenstein in the REAL Indian Residential Schools Newsletter. The architect reported his findings under the pseudonym Kam Res to avoid retaliation. Res’ findings have not been peer-reviewed. 

Other academics who have raised questions about the Kamloops graves have been cancelled and targeted by the media. Mount Royal University professor Frances Widdowson was removed from her tenured position due to being outspoken on Indigenous issues. 

Aerial photography and historical documents show that the site where the graves were alleged to have been discovered has been subject to decades of archeological digs and other excavation activity which did not turn up any human remains. 

The most significant of these digs took place in 1958 when a plot of over 100,000 square feet or 30% of an apple orchard just outside of the residential school was excavated for a sewage retention pond. 

Aerial photography and historical documents show that the site where the graves were alleged to have been discovered has been subject to decades of archeological digs and other excavation activity which did not turn up any human remains. 

Other excavations have since taken place. In 1998, Simon Fraser University archaeologists visited the location to monitor construction activity where a water line was dug through the area. No graves were discovered or announced during the dig. 

Additionally, in 2002, the Simon Fraser University Archaeology Field School excavated the orchard where fifteen pits were dug and no human remains were unearthed. No remains were discovered at another dig conducted by the school two years later.

In 2002, the Simon Fraser University Archaeology Field School excavated the orchard where fifteen pits were dug and no human remains were unearthed. No remains were discovered at another dig conducted by the school two years later.

“Archaeologists have been active on the site since the 1980s, conducting excavations and monitoring construction work. Deep trenches have been cut straight across the orchard and a sewage pond was excavated from the entire southwestern quadrant,” wrote Dr. Rubenstein.

Research by Prof. Sarah Beaulieu has claimed that Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) findings indicate 200 “probable burials.” In her study, Beaulieu also relied on oral history and folklore to claim that children had been buried at the site since the late 1940s. 

No excavations have been conducted to date to confirm the claims and Beaulieu has yet to release a detailed report on her findings so their veracity can be determined.

“Given that the apple orchard is deeply textured by centuries of human activity, how can it be said that Dr. Beaulieu’s targets are more ‘probably’ graves than other features of human activity?” wrote Dr. Rubenstein.

“With more than 30 percent of the orchard already excavated and no graves discovered, is it likely that a staggering 200 burials are scattered throughout the remaining area?”

Last year, the Kamloops Indian Band issued a press release which prompted a global media frenzy surrounding the unconfirmed burial allegations.

“It is with a heavy heart that [Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Chief] Rosanne Casimir confirms an unthinkable loss … This past weekend, with the help of a ground penetrating radar [GPR] specialist, the stark truth of the preliminary findings came to light – the confirmation of the remains of 215 children who were students of the Kamloops Indian Residential School,” claimed the press release.

The announcement led to a series of Christian churches being vandalized and burnt down, calls to cancel Canada Day and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lowering the flag to half-mast for over six months. 

Over 100,000 Nova Scotians waiting to access a family doctor

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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Nova Scotians have an even bigger hill to climb to get access to a family doctor after the province’s waitlist just surpassed 100,000 people. 

Nova Scotia’s official opposition, the NDP, blasted PC Premier Tim Houston for not acting to patch up the ailing healthcare system. 

“Neither the Houston Conservatives or the Liberals before them have been able to make a dent in making sure people have a primary care provider,” said NDP MLA Susan Leblanc. 

“While there have been some gains in hiring, that can only do so much when we see dozens of doctors retire or leave the province each year. There has to be a retention plan too.”

At the beginning of this month the Nova Scotia government revealed that 100,592 Nova Scotians were on the Family Practice Registry.

The waitlist was first made publicly available in 2018. Since then over 50,000 new names have been added to the waitlist. 

“We have seen that there are a number of physicians, as an example, who are preparing for retirement, and we know that people have gone on the list as a result of retirement, because they’re anticipating retirement,” said the province’s health minister Michelle Thompson. 

“I take the concerns people are feeling about access to health care very seriously. While there is no overnight solution to address the Need a Family Practice registry, I want to assure all Nova Scotians that we are working hard to recruit health-care professionals and improve access to primary health care.”

On the other hand around 2,700 people were taken off the list each month after they found a family physician. However, last month over 7,000 people were added to the registry. 

The news comes as Canada’s 13 premiers meet in British Columbia. Healthcare was a central issue during the meeting with all premiers agreeing that Canada’s healthcare system was in crisis. 

According to Houston no provinces are trying to “scrimp on a health-care budget and divert money somewhere else” but it’s the federal government that is refusing to cooperate to fix the issue. 

Danielle Smith to be endorsed by MLA who sold memberships for Patrick Brown

By
Rachel Parker
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United Conservative Party (UCP) leadership candidate Danielle Smith will be receiving an endorsement from Devinder Toor, a UCP MLA who sold federal Conservative party memberships for now disqualified leadership candidate Patrick Brown, True North has learned.

Two campaign sources say Smith will accept the endorsement Thursday night at a campaign rally near Toor’s Calgary-Falconridge riding. The sources are not being named as they are not authorized to speak about the matter publicly.

A senior campaign source said Smith’s campaign chair Rob Anderson pressured her to accept the endorsement because she needs more endorsements from sitting MLAs.

“The campaign chair has pressured the candidate into asking for endorsements from an MLA with a lengthy history of questionable ethics,” the source told True North.

The endorsement is a “serious cause for concern” because of Toor’s tight connection to Brown’s leadership campaign and because of Toor’s lengthy record of “shady business practices,” the source said, adding that several prominent conservatives told Smith the endorsement would be problematic.

Toor was heavily involved in Brown’s Alberta ethnic outreach and membership drives. Earlier this month, Brown was disqualified from the Conservative leadership race on allegations related to breaching financing rules in the Canada Elections Act. Before he was disqualified, Brown said his campaign sold 150,000 memberships.

In July 2021, Elections Alberta fined Toor $15,000 for violations both as a nomination candidate and as a candidate in the 2019 provincial election. Some of the charges for his time as a provincial candidate include filing a false financial statement, exceeding expense limits, and failing to deposit contributions into the account on record with the chief financial officer.

As a Wildrose candidate, Toor faced allegations that he advertised jobs for less than minimum wage. His Payless Liquor stores have been fined by the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission for several technical violations, including failing to demand proof of age.

Contacted by True North on Wednesday, Toor said his endorsement is “not final yet,” but that the former Wildrose leader is on his “short list.” Toor said if he backs Smith’s candidacy, he would help her sell memberships.

“To me, endorsement means full-fledged help,” he said.

UCP MLA Peter Guthrie — the only UCP MLA that has endorsed Smith, so far — also encouraged Toor to make the endorsement and for Smith to accept it.

Guthrie said MLAs should have their “finger on the pulse” of who their constituents are supporting and back that candidate. Toor is “evaluating the will of his constituents” and has been talking to those in his community about who to back, Guthrie told True North.

Smith’s campaign declined to comment when contacted by True North on Wednesday.

Sources also say Smith will be receiving an endorsement from former Calgary Flames player Theoren “Theo” Fleury. Smith announced on social media that Fleury would be a “special guest” at her Thursday night rally.

In the federal Conservative leadership race, Fleury endorsed and campaigned for Saskatchewan businessman Joseph Bourgault, who ultimately did not make the fundraising target required to appear on the ballot.

Smith submitted the entire $175,000 leadership fee along with over 4,500 nomination signatures — over double the requirements —  to the UCP on Tuesday. If approved, she’ll be the second official leadership candidate behind former Finance minister Travis Toews.

Guilbeault’s cross-country environmental tour by train “not feasible”

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Liberal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault’s plan to travel across Canada by train to discuss climate change was cancelled due to a lack of service by VIA Rail trains, according to a report in the National Post.

Guilbeault first announced the tour last year at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland. 

“I look forward to travelling across the country early in the new year, by train, to meet and discuss (climate change) with Canadians in all parts of the country,” Guilbeault claimed. 

On Tuesday, Guilbeault’s office stated that VIA Rail didn’t have adequate service for the minister to take the trip. 

“Due to VIA Rail’s continued reduced capacity on their rail lines due to Covid as well as train car maintenance, logistically, it was not feasible to conduct a meaningful tour this year in all parts of the country,” said Guilbeault’s director of communication Oliver Anderson told the National Post.

“(We were not) able to bring together something that would be billed as a cross-country tour because it was not logistically feasible.” 

The office noted that VIA Rail trains do not service five of Canada’s provincial capitals and many routes are still down due to pandemic cancellations. 

“Nonetheless, the Minister is conducting broad outreach this year across Canada and continues to use the train often. He is a great supporter of train travel and the continued expansion of passenger rail networks in the country,” said Anderson. 

Guilbeault hasn’t ruled out embarking on a train tour in the future once VIA Rail routes return to pre-pandemic service levels. 

Last year, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland came under fire for refusing to take a public train to the COP26 glasgow and hiring a private driver to take her to the conference. 

According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Freeland billed taxpayers over $3,000 for a luxury car service for her and her staff. 

Instead of staying in Glasgow, where the conference was located, Freeland stayed at a hotel in Edinburgh. A trip via public train routes would hace cost only $50-a-day. 

Brampton city councillors calling on RCMP to investigate Patrick Brown

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
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Four Brampton city councillors, including two deputy mayors, are calling on the RCMP to investigate the financial dealings of mayor Patrick Brown.

“We need an outside authority, not controlled by Brown, to conduct a thorough investigation,” reads a letter signed by councillors Pat Fortini, Martin Medeiros, Jeff Bowman and Gurpreet Singh Dhillon.

The elected officials say Brown does not want the findings of independent investigators hired to look into multiple city contracts and what they call a “‘questionable’ financial arrangement” with his associates made public. 

Brown and supporting city councillors are alleged to have shut down four council meetings where discussions surrounding forensic investigations into the mayor’s conduct were meant to take place.

“At least one man in Brown’s inner circle who worked on his federal campaign, worked for a firm that received more than $500,000 from City Hall. Staff are unable to determine how this amount was approved under Brown or what work was completed for the money paid by Brampton taxpayers,” wrote the four councillors.

They claim that there are multiple other “questionable” city contracts and evidence linked to Brown’s Conservative Party of Canada leadership campaign. 

As first reported by Rebel News, Brown also allegedly used City of Brampton employees for his campaign to be leader of the Conservatives. 

True North reached out to the Brown’s campaign but did not hear back in time of publication.

The councillors want the RCMP and Elections Canada to investigate those allegations, and the Attorney General of Ontario to look into “any allegations and evidence that have already come forward as well as any that might come to light through the ongoing investigations.”

This is not the first time that Brown has been at the heap of controversy in his role as Mayor of Brampton. He had also been under fire for a failed university scheme and issues surrounding the city’s integrity commissioner.

Brown was also accused of breaking public health rules in August 2020, after Rebel News caught the mayor visiting a hockey arena maskless while Brampton was under strict government restrictions.

Brown was disqualified from the Conservative Party of Canada leadership race earlier this month for allegedly having broken campaign finance laws. The party has forwarded the case to Elections Canada for further investigation. 

City councillors say Brown’s “scandalous time inside Brampton city hall also needs to end.”

Brown has denied wrongdoing in both the Conservative leadership race and in his role as Mayor of Brampton. He also said fellow councillors broke the law with their attempt to appoint a councillor to replace Charmaine Williams, who was elected to the Ontario Legislature.

Brown has not yet decided if he will seek re-election as Mayor of Brampton, but the four councillors say “if Patrick Brown is not held accountable for his actions by the RCMP and the Province, our democracy will.”

The deadline to file to run for Mayor of Brampton is August 19, with the municipal election set to take place on October 24.  

Brown campaign still using Conservative Party membership email list after disqualification

By
Noah Jarvis
-

The campaign for disqualified Conservative leadership candidate Patrick Brown has confirmed they are still using the confidential Conservative Party membership list to send members fundraising emails. 

In one email obtained by True North from a Conservative member, the Brown campaign promotes its legal challenge to re-admit Brown in the Conservative leadership race, saying the Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC) did not provide the candidate with due process to contest the allegations against him.

After candidates submit their cash deposit and are verified by the party as being eligible to run, they are given the party’s confidential membership list to promote their campaign to party members.

Brown’s email asks supporters to donate to his campaign, directing recipients to the fundraising portal set up on the Conservative party’s website.

“Federally, Patrick is conducting another legal challenge to the Conservative Party of Canada’s Leadership Election Organizing Committee’s decision to disqualify him from the party’s leadership race. Due process was never followed,” the email says.

The email was sent by campaign manager John Mykytyshyn, who claimed not to be a part of the Brown campaign when Rebel News reached out to him for comment in March.  

Mykytyshyn did not respond to a request from True North by time of publication.

True North reached out to the Brown campaign’s spokesperson Chisholm Pothier for comment. Pothier confirmed that the campaign still had access to the party’s membership list. 

“We received the list that was given at the time to communicate to the members on that list,” Pothier said. “We continue to do so.”

He also accused True North of providing Pierre Poilievre with favourable coverage and called the Canada Strong and Free Network’s Conservative leadership debate one of “the worst Conservative leadership debates ever.”

“Maybe you should stop being a newsletter for Poilievre and do some actual journalism,” he said.

Brown has retained renowned Canadian lawyer Marie Henein to challenge his disqualification, though it’s not clear whether there is a path to reinstatement through the courts.  Section 3.1.10 of the Conservative leadership rules clearly states that decisions made by LEOC are final and not subject to judicial review.

The Conservatives have disputed Brown’s claims that he wasn’t given sufficient time to respond to the party’s allegations, saying that all the details of their claims cannot be made public as the case was referred to Elections Canada.

“In the spirit of good faith and fairness, the party gave them every opportunity to clarify and resolve their concerns aside. Ultimately that effort failed,” said Ian Brodie in a statement sent to Conservative members.

“To be clear, the Brown campaign knew full well what the allegations were. Any suggestion to the contrary is simply incorrect.”

The Brown campaign claims that they only learned of the allegations once Brown’s former regional organizer Debbie Jodoin came forward to the media revealing herself to be the whistleblower.

Jodoin alleged that she was being paid by a corporation to work for the Brown campaign, which is prohibited in section 4.2.6 of the Conservative leadership election rules.

Conservative Leadership Series: Scott Aitchison

By
Andrew Lawton
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Parry Sound—Muskoka member of parliament Scott Aitchison is seeking the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada on a policy-driven platform that has pledged to do away with supply management, scrap the carbon tax, and recognize Taiwan as a government. In this episode of The Andrew Lawton Show’s Conservative Leadership Series on True North, Aitchison discusses the cost of living crisis, political pandering, trust in the Canadian government’s Covid response, and a range of other topics.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE ANDREW LAWTON SHOW

Feds recognize unfair advantage transwomen have in sport

By
Noah Jarvis
-

A government briefing note on Gender Equity And Transgender Inclusion In Sport has recognized that transgender women, men who identify as women, are at an unfair advantage in sports.

According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the Canadian Heritage Committee, the department in charge of funding amateur sports, was briefed on the effect of including transmen and transwomen in sports competitions.

The briefing note cites peer-reviewed studies that conclude transwomen are unfairly advantaged in sport due to their male physiology, and suppressing testosterone levels does not reverse the effects of male puberty. 

“The most current peer-reviewed science demonstrates significant male advantage in sport amplified through and after puberty, and that testosterone suppression in transwomen does not mitigate the legacy effects of male puberty,” reads the briefing note.

“There is a growing debate in sport primarily focused on women’s elite categories where there are safety and fairness concerns regarding the inclusion of transwomen who are physiologically stronger.”

Transgender men, women who identify as men, are also addressed, as they are put at a physiological disadvantage when competing in male sports.

“However transmen are both subject to anti-doping regulations in the female category and biological disadvantage in the men’s.”

The controversy around transgender athletes competing in sports was amplified when transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas broke the women’s swimming record in the 500m freestyle. Thomas is a biological man who identifies as women.

The international organization that governs swimming competition, FINA approved a policy that would ban transwomen from competing in swimming events if they did not change their gender before the age of 12, or stage two on the Tanner Scale for the development of sexual maturity. The delegates representing Canada voted in favour of the motion.

Years ago, a transwoman generated controversy over her ability to compete in mixed martial arts competition, as the biological man broke the skull of a woman in a fight. 

Men and women are divided in sports competition because men have the physiological advantage of having greater bone density, muscle mass, aerobic conditioning and more.

These advantages manifest themselves in men’s records being significantly harder to break than women’s records. For example, the world record for the men’s 100m dash is 9.58 seconds, with the women’s record being 10.49 seconds.

US government “expressed concern” about Bill C-11 to Liberal minister

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

A top US diplomat raised concerns about the Liberal government’s censorship law Bill C-11 in a recent meeting with Minister of International Trade Mary Ng.

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s readout of her meeting with Ng cites pending digital streaming services legislation.

“Ambassador Tai expressed concern about Canada’s proposed digital service tax and pending legislation in the Canadian Parliament that could impact digital streaming services,” it wrote. 

According to University of Ottawa internet and e-commerce law professor Michael Geist, Bill C-11 could trigger retaliatory tariffs from the US since digital products are included in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

Meanwhile, Canada’s readout of the meeting makes no mention of Tai bringing up Bill C-11 with Ng. 

“The creation of a new trade irritant with Bill C-11 could prove extremely costly as it opens the door the possibility of hundreds of millions of dollars in retaliatory tariffs. Those tariffs can target any sector, meaning they could be levied on dairy, steel or other sensitive economic sectors,” explains Geist. 

“From a Canadian perspective, the CUSMA cultural exemption allows for discriminatory policies but at a price with Bill C-11 opening the door to U.S. retaliatory measures that would be designed to match any new benefits dollar-for-dollar. With the U.S. now signalling its concern with the legislation, the risks of pushing ahead with the unprecedented regulation of user content just got much bigger.”

Contrary to claims by Liberal Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez, Bill C-11 would give the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission power to regulate user-generated content. 

As reported by True North, the news that Bill C-11 passed through the House of Commons has prompted numerous YouTubers to consider leaving Canada. 

“My life and the life of other Canadian YouTubers just got turned upside down. Our government just passed Bill C-11 which gives them control over what Canadian citizens see on the internet,” said YouTuber Rick Kackis. 

“Where do we go from here? No one knows, it’s simply terrifying. People in the states. Got any good deals on housing? Because apparently, I’ve got to move.”

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